Zhu, Dabbour, Bosco, Barry, Seferi 1

Jawad Dabbour, Kevin Zhu, Dominic Bosco, Mamadou Barry, Franc Seferi

Ms. Parker

APES

25, May 2017

School Composting

The idea of composting in school because of the mass amount of waste we

produce has been around since school was invented and food was being served. In

every single school around the world food gets thrown out that could have otherwise

feed millions of people who do not have it. One example of when it was started is, At

the turn of the 20th century, concern over malnutrition in children inspired philanthropic

groups to provide balanced meals to students during their lunch hour...Philadelphia

began by serving penny lunches at one school in 1894 and even before that food was

still being served in school if not in lunch(History of School Lunch). This has stuck now

in 2017, but it has gotten worse because the population has increased and more food is

needed, but that means more food is wasted. All around the country more schools

began opening and offering food, but then in the end ended up have more food wasted

and more resources gone to waste which must be stopped!

We as a society have created this major problem, the amount of food wasted that

could be used elsewhere or even composted in a garden to help reduce garbage

significantly is drastic, one example tells us Of 4,988 ounces of food and beverages

served, 2,261.2 ounces (45.3%) of food were wasted during one full school week or

141.2 pounds(NSLP). 141 pounds, thats insane! And thats is one school, and in one
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state, now the think beyond that, the amount of schools in the state accounts for waste

up to hundred of tons a week, then onto the country, then the world, just think if one

school has 140 pounds of food what does an entire earth filled with schools waste. That

number could be anywhere from hundreds of thousands of tons to millions of tons a

year to almost a billion.

So how was it discovered? Well many people began realizing kids did not like

eating the food or were not hungry so they just got the food because they are forced to

and then just throw it out because they cannot eat it or will not. A recent study that

shows, The extra produce costs school districts $5.4 million a day, with $3.8 million of

that being tossed in the trash, according to national estimates based on a 2013 study of

15 Utah schools by researchers with Cornell University and Brigham Young

University(solution to decrease food waste in schools). 3.8 out of 5.4 million dollars

used for the food wasted because kids throw them out. The discovery was because

much of the trash faculty and garbage men were seeing was mainly 80% food and it

was all perfectly good food, and now all of it had to be trashed and thrown away.

Now this is not going unnoticed anywhere, over 58 organizations around the

world are fight back and providing people with education, tools, idea, thoughts, and

everything else to help them understand what they are doing is truly wrong, and how

producing a new array of idea will not only make way for new opportunities but provide

for the earth and help keep our food clean. Thankfully, businesses, policymakers,

farmers, researchers, and the funding and donor communities are taking action to tackle

food loss and food waste. ReFED, for example, is a collaboration of businesses,
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nonprofits, foundations, and government leaders that came together to analyze the

problem of food waste and develop practical solutions(58 organizations fighting back).

58? That is amazing! In the near future we hope it could go up to 100 at the least in

order to finish it.

Many laws and regulations are not present in composting for schools because

composting is not very common around the world, especially in many schools if at all.

Although some around the world do have certain rules in their school that forces them to

compost in order to lessen the school's trash, which is beneficial to everyone. One

example is Vermonts Universal Recycling Law (Act 148) banned recyclables from

disposal as of July 2015. Food scraps are being banned as well, beginning with the

largest generators in 2014; a full ban, including household food scraps, will be in place

by 2020 in order to help students learn the art of separating their food scraps from other

recyclables and waste for composting(Food Scraps Composting at Schools). This ban

should be implemented all over the country in order to lessen and destroy our food

waste drastically without the need to worry about landfills getting filled.

So what is the cause of all of this? Well, that would have to be either many kids

are not taught to eat all their food no matter what it is, the lunch is terrible as it is in most

to all schools, there are no compost piles or bins, schools do not educate kids enough

on the environment and importance of recycling and composting, which is a terrible

deficit that must be reversed and stopped before it is too late. Most of the time we

waste the same types of food for the same 2 main reasons: we have bought or

prepared too much, or we have forgotten to use it on time(Why do we waste food). This
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is true and is very sad. Instead of eating all the food we have and saving for later and

not preparing more we throw it out and waste perfectly good food that goes bad due to

us humans.

So then what happens because of this? Well, The higher the population soars,

the more surplus food is produced. Between 2009 and 2030, the World Bank estimates

that the demand for food will increase by 50% as the global population grows, creating a

positive feedback loop resulting in further waste (Means, Adenso-Diaz & Yurt, 2011).

Farmers will fall into a tailspin as they try desperately to provide enough food not only to

feed the many gaping mouths(Consequences Of Food Waste). Food will become more

and more scarce and in a greater demand in about 5 years, then we will over plow and

cultivate areas and leave them dry 10 years later. The world will become a wasteland

and humans will starve and the population will dwindle slowly if something is not done

25-100 years. In order for us to do this we must work together to find new alternatives

and ideas to help save planet earth.

What are the solutions then? How can this be prevented? Well the key is

EDUCATION, we must, no NEED to teach our future generations and present

generations how to take care of earth and the little things that can help make earth last

a little longer. One thing is to teach kids to fight for composting in every school in the

world, not just this but composting everywhere, stores, restaurants, clubs, etc. Another

solution could involve a better understanding at how to use leftovers and food you do

not use, like maybe donate it, make a casserole, share it with other people, and buy

only what you need unless it is extendable and has a great shelf life. One sources tells
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us, Some things we can do are use Improved storage methods...Redistribute

food...Better food date labels...Reduce portion sizes...Launch consumer awareness

campaigns...Develop a food loss and waste measurement protocol...Set food loss and

waste reduction targets...and Increase investment in reducing post-harvest losses in

developing countries(10 ways to cut global food loss). Look how many ways there are,

these are just a few, of thousands of ways. If people begin doing things like this, even

slowly, it will have an impact earth far greater than you can imagine, it will open up earth

to a greater and fuller life and provide us with a future worth seeking.

Now, some people might say, we have plenty of food and new ways to make

more food and in a greater amount, we shouldnt be worried. However, that is false,

although we may be able to create more food in a larger amount, it takes us more

space, requires the use of chemicals in our food, chemicals, it keeps genetic diversity

low because only the biggest and best crops or food is chosen for use, in the case of

animals the fatter they are and more hormones and chemicals the more meat and

money. To get a greater amount of food you must alter the item. We may have a lot of

food, and we mean a lot. That is all limited, nothing last forever, and whatever is left is

thrown away. Everybody would rather look forward to world with a good amount of food

without worry about having to use chemicals to get the most of your money.

So, what happens now? Well people must and are being informed of the

importance of not wasting food, and the importance of composting to prevent overload

to landfills. We as a group have decided to try it, and some of us already compost

(Jawad Dabbour) it has significantly reduced his trash and it also understand what it
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means to compost. The importance of keeping our earth clean and alive is our goals as

humans who have destroyed most of it. In order for it to happen we must work together

as human beings no matter what the differences and open our eyes to the truth. We

must grab the cat by the tail and drag him out and clean him, we cannot stay inside

anymore, we must escape our shell and help mother nature.

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As you can see, between these three schools, food was above 50% average of the

schools waste, and this is just three schools of so many. 50% of all trash is food from

the lunchrooms, and it's all wasted! None of it gets composted or recycled, no it's sent

to landfills to rot and do nothing.

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North America is one of the biggest wasters of food, this must be stopped, 640 pounds

of food wasted a year! That is a lot of food! That can feed thousands of people, and all

of it goes to waste. The sheer magnitude we waste food is astronomical and cannot

continue, it must be stopped.

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By composting all of your food you can contribute less to global warming, reduce

methane gas emissions, and it is easy! Just dig a hole in your garden or plot of land, get

your food that you are not using or is going bad, if you cannot eat it or it has went bad

then throw it in there to let it recycle into the earth, and let earth take its course.
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Food is not the only thing that is compostable, this only makes it better, if you can

compost it why not do it, it is safe, easy, fun, and reassuring. Try it once and you will

always want to do it. Although you may have to remember what you can and cannot

compost.
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Hear this, we only eat 70/100% of cereals, 55/100% of fruits and veggies, 80/100% of

oilseeds and pulses, 55/100% of roots and tubers, 80/100% of dairy, 70/100% of fish,

and 80/100% of meat, the rest of all the percents are all losses of food due to waste,

they are all food wasted.

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The picture above is self explanatory but, of food globally is thrown away, there has

been a major rise in food waste since the 19th century, and over 1.3 billion tons of food

are thrown away.

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Works Cited

Websites

Avey, T. (2015, September 03). The History of School Lunch. Retrieved June 02, 2017,

from http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-school-lunch/

Danielle Nierenberg / Food Tank. (n.d.). 58 Organizations Fighting Food Waste Around

the World. Retrieved June 02, 2017, from

http://www.alternet.org/food/58-organizations-fighting-food-waste-around-world

(n.d.). Retrieved June 02, 2017, from

https://schoolnutrition.org/uploadedFiles/Presentations/ANC_2012_-_Denver(1)/2._Nutri

tion/071314%20at%2012%20-%20Food%20Waste%20Among%20Elementary%20Sch

ool%20Children%20Challenges%20%20Opportunities.pdf

Solutions sought to reduce food waste at schools. (n.d.). Retrieved June 02, 2017, from

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-lausd-waste-20140402-story.html

Why do we waste food? (n.d.). Retrieved June 02, 2017, from

http://www.stopfoodwaste.ie/food-we-waste/why-we-waste-food/
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10 Ways to Cut Global Food Loss and Waste. (n.d.). Retrieved June 02, 2017, from

http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/06/10-ways-cut-global-food-loss-and-waste

Reducing Wasted Food At Home. (2017, April 17). Retrieved June 02, 2017, from

https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-wasted-food-home

(n.d.). Retrieved June 02, 2017, from

https://www.biocycle.net/2015/10/21/food-scraps-composting-at-schools/

Pictures

Composting. (2010, July 21). Retrieved June 02, 2017, from

https://thegoodfoodproject.wordpress.com/composting-initiative/

Composting. (n.d.). Retrieved June 02, 2017, from

https://visual.ly/community/infographic/environment/composting

Gould, L. G. (2016, March 10). These countries are the biggest food wasters around the

world. Retrieved June 02, 2017, from

http://www.businessinsider.com/which-parts-of-the-world-waste-the-most-food-2016-3
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Indigo, R. (2015, April 22). Chocolate Nut Free Weetbix SliceNut Free Version of the

Delectable Weetbix Slice. Retrieved June 02, 2017, from

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/453245149977177791/

Payne,K. (n.d.)The Consequences of Food Waste.

Retrieved2017,

http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/890/the-consequences-of-food-waste

Books

Bloom, J. M. (2011). American wasteland: how America throws away nearly half of its

food (and what we can do about it). Cambridge: Da Capo Press.

Bricas, N., Esnouf, C., & Russel, M. (2013). Food system sustainability: insights from

duALIne. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Films

H. (n.d.). Retrieved June 02, 2017, from http://www.foodwastemovie.com/

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(n.d.). Retrieved June 02, 2017, from http://www.divethefilm.com/default.aspx

Interviews

Interview Food Waste Fighter: An Interview with Jonathan Bloom [Interview]. (n.d.).